Garage Sale
'''Garage Sale, '''is the 15th episode of season 4 and the 78th episode overall on Malcolm in the Middle. It aired on April 6th, 2003. It was driected by Levie Issacks and written by Maggie Bandur. Plot Home from a visit with her sister Susan who had called her "hopeless," Lois puts Reese in charge of the family garage sale. Meanwhile, Hal finds his old pirate radio transmitter and restarts the station he ran in college under the pseudonym Kid Charlemagne. Malcolm finds an old computer worth over thousands of dollars and tells Lois about it. After Reese intentionally destroys it, she reprimands him and reminds him that they desperately need the money. At the ranch, Francis uses a sock puppet to help Otto deal with his estrangement from his son Rutger, an experience that helps him say just what Lois needs to hear when he calls home. Summary Consistent with the conclusion of the far-superior "Hal's Friend," the bedroom wall is still knocked out and covered with plastic when Lois returns. Hal's stammering assurances that he's got expansion plans in mind fail to worry Lois, who's simply glad to be home after an apparently unpleasant experience staying with her sister. Moreover, she's been thinking of Reese and his wayward ways, venturing that if the lad were given some encouragement and responsibility, he might turn a corner. When Malcolm later suggests having a garage sale to raise some funds, Lois allows Reese to take credit for the idea and then puts him in charge of organizing the event. Peeved at this theft of his thunder, Malcolm protests but is silenced by a determined Lois, who's rooting for Reese to do well, despite the half-assed job he's actually doing. During all this, Hal uncovers an old radio transmitter which he used in college for a pirate talk-radio broadcast. Inspired to renew his "Kid Charlemagne" character, he starts transmitting again from behind the garage, filling his frequency with increasingly-cockeyed conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, Malcolm finds a vintage 1976 computer chassis which Reese orders him to throw away but which Malcolm discovers online is valued at $1300. He enlists Craig to purchase it at the garage sale during a scripted transaction in which Reese's judgment will be derided in favor of Malcolm's. Apparently they do, and his name is Rutger, but when his latest letter arrives, Gretchen implores Francis to hide it too late, Otto is already setting fire to the envelope. It seems that the father and son had a falling-out years before, and both are too strong-willed to attempt to breach the gap. When Gretchen happens upon "Schlupi," a sock puppet which Otto once used to communicate frank messages which he otherwise couldn't relay to his son, Francis has an idea. Confronting his boss, Francis forces the Schlupi sock onto Otto's hand and with it he was able to tell him how he really felt when he left him. Then, Francis arranges for a phone to be brought, so that nature can take its course. The day of the garage sale eventually falls, and despite Lois' stalwart reassurances, Reese is a nightmare of shitty salesmanship and harebrained ideas. He even sells Dewey's piggy-bank, which happens to contain $16 of Dewey's money, for a mere two bucks. An enraged Dewey retaliates by underhandedly selling most of the family's furniture and belongings from inside the house and then pocketing the money--the shining comic jewel of the entire episode. Malcolm is about to close the rehearsed "sale" of the vintage computer to Craig when a frenzied Hal spirits the portly Lucky Aide manager away while trying to evade lurking FCC agents. Malcolm finally tells Lois the truth about an old computer that he found that could have brought in a cool $1300, her faith in Reese wanes. Enraged that he didn't throw away the computer and Malcolm was wasting his time telling the family about it, Reese intentionally destroys it, which in turn infuriates both her and Malcolm. Lois immediately reprimands him for what he's done and tells him that they desperately needs the money to begin their expansion plans. Meanwhile, Craig whom was supposed to help Malcolm to sell a priceless computer, has pulled over and wants to cooperate with the FCC agents. Hal attempts to make a run for it, which later gets him arrested and a bruised knee. Later, as she and Hal ponder the upcoming baby in their largely empty living room. They realise that Reese is hopeless after all and soon the phone rings. It's Francis, and he's ready to have a heart-to-heart talk with Lois. On his hand, is Schlupi and it helps him say the things she needed to hear. Category:Episodes focusing on Reese Category:Season 4 Category:Episodes